"Spine," by Venice artist Jud Fine, pays tribute to the role
water played in evolution and, consequently, the development of human
language.

Located at the Los Angeles Central Library, the piece includes three
pools, each draining into the next.

"Each one of the three pools are named: Clear, Bright and Lucid;
words often used to describe air, water and intelligence, three entities
that define human existence," Fine said of the project.

A series of four steps traces the evolution of language from archaic
to writing, print and, finally, the post-literate period. Off to the side
is a grotto inscribed with the 14th amendment, the one that granted all
citizens citizenship, with an arch above that holds the Frederick Douglas
quote: "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and
it never will."

"That's really the nature of a free public library," Fine said.
"Through it, new voices, new minds and new people can be franchised.
But, it's water that is carrying the content; without it, none would exist."